Chapter 240: Holy Knights? You Can Kneel, Too!
"Garp..." Sengoku stared at the old man. "He was injured recently. His condition is... unstable. He'd only be a liability."
"Then..." Saturn began, but Sengoku cut him off.
"There are others. Contact Z!" he ordered. "Tell him to drop everything and get to Sabaody, now!"
"Z?" Saturn nodded, satisfied. "Yes. He is a much better choice." "Black Arm" Z, a former Admiral, was still a formidable fighter. More importantly, unlike Garp, who had a history with Shane, Z was known for his uncompromising hatred of all pirates. He would get the job done.
...
"Ten more sets!" Z's voice boomed across the training grounds. "Don't tell me you're tired! A real pirate isn't going to stop just because you're tired!"
Just then, a messenger ran onto the field, out of breath. "General Z! An emergency order!"
Z read the dispatch, and his brow furrowed. The Celestial Dragons again? They want me to clean up their mess? He was about to refuse, but then he remembered... it had been a long time since he'd been called to the front lines. If they were calling in a retired old man like him, Marine HQ must be truly desperate...
"Is this Sengoku's decision?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
He sighed. He couldn't refuse an old friend. "Tell Ain and Binz to assemble their men at the docks. This will be a good training exercise for them."
At the Sabaody amusement park, the minutes ticked by. Jack, bored, was starting to get restless on the backs of the two Celestial Dragons.
"Is Teacher Z on his way?" Kizaru asked into his Transponder Snail.
"Yes," Sengoku's voice replied. "But the final decision rests with the Holy Knights. When they arrive, you will cede command to them."
"Understood," Kizaru said, hanging up. "Still no sign of them... This is getting stressful..."
"Six minutes. Time's up," Shane's calm voice cut through the air. "It seems the Holy Knights are slower than I thought. Jack, you may proceed."
"Yes, Boss!" Jack drew his crescent-bladed shotels. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe..."
"No, please..." Rosward sobbed. "Cut her first! I'll give you money! Lots of money!"
"You coward!" Shalria shrieked. "Cut him! I'll give you double!"
"So annoying!" Jack roared, silencing them. He looked at Rosward with disgust. "You first."
"NOOOO!!!"
SCHLICK!
Rosward's right arm fell to the ground, and he began to scream in agony. Kizaru took a step forward, but Kuina was already there, her sword drawn, a cold look in her eyes. He sighed and stepped back.
"Seven minutes," Shane said, holding up a second finger.
"Alright," Jack said, turning to Shalria. "It's your turn."
"No, please!" she shrieked, a puddle forming beneath her as she lost control of her bladder. The high and mighty World Noble was now a sobbing, pathetic mess. "I'm sorry! I'll never come back to Sabaody! I'll never buy another slave!"
"It's not that you're sorry. It's that you know you're going to die," Jack said, his voice deep and philosophical. He looked at Kizaru with a grin. "Pretty cool line, right? The Boss taught me that one." He raised his blades.
"HALT!!!"
BOOM!
A bolt of black lightning exploded in front of them, and from the smoke, three figures emerged. A petite woman in a wide-brimmed hat and a long coat, a tall, long-necked man with a qilin's horn, and a man with red hair and a cold, familiar face.
"So, the main event has finally arrived," Shane said with a smile.
"Shane!" the woman, Gunshi, snapped, her eyes blazing with fury. "And you, you big oaf! How dare you insult a god! You are asking for death!"
"Death?" Shane said, an amused look on his face. "I thought you were trying to recruit me. Have you changed your mind?"
"We did have that intention," she sneered. "But after this... you are no longer worthy!"
"That's right," the red-haired man, Shamrock, said, his voice cold. "I am very disappointed in you, Shane. It seems our connection... has come to an end."
"Good," Gunshi said. "Then as I was saying..." She looked at Jack with a condescending glare. "Hey, you big oaf. Let those two go. This is your final warning. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise, what?" a low voice whispered in her ear.
Shamrock's eyes widened. He drew his sword, but it was too late.
BOOM!!!
A fist wreathed in black-and-red Haki slammed into Gunshi's face, sending her flying. But Shane was already on her, his leg a blur as he brought it down on her spine with a sickening CRACK! He stomped her face into the ground, then lifted her by the hair.
"The Holy Knights... seem even more clueless than the regular Celestial Dragons," he said, kicking her in the back of the knee and forcing her to the ground. "A weakling who can't even use her Devil Fruit in front of me... who gave you the right to speak to me in that tone?"
"KNEEL."
CRACK!
Her kneecaps shattered, and she collapsed to the ground, a broken, bloody mess.
"You... you dare..." she gasped.
"Silence," he said, and backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling, unconscious. He didn't bother to finish her. Not yet. He had heard that the Holy Knights, like the Five Elders, were immortal. He was curious to see if a strong enough Haki could negate their regeneration.
"GUNSHI!!!" the qilin-man, Qilin, roared, his body erupting in a cloud of purple-black flame as he transformed into his half-beast form. "Mortal! Mortal! How dare you..."
"You shut up, too," Shane said, and with a casual wave of his hand, a torrent of Conqueror's Haki slammed into him, extinguishing his flames and forcing him to his knees.
"Lord Shamrock!" Qilin cried, looking to his leader for help.
Shamrock stood frozen, a look of shock and disbelief on his face. In that one instant, he had been completely paralyzed by Shane's aura. It was a level of power he had never felt before, far beyond what he had sensed six months ago. This monster... is he still growing?!
"Hey, Borsalino," he said, his voice tight. "You've been watching long enough, don't you think? There is no longer any possibility of negotiation. I am going to eliminate these fanatics. Are you going to help me?"
"Watching?" Kizaru said, a look of genuine confusion on his face. "Me? Lord Shamrock, what are you talking about?"
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